Category: Motherhood

Most moms find it difficult to balance between taking care of their kids and caring for themselves. Being a mom isn’t as easy as it seems. It requires you to care for your kids and ensure they are okay 24/7. Don’t forget you still have other responsibilities in life, including work and social life. Being able to manage all that every single day can be very challenging, leaving you with minimal sleeping time. Sleep isn’t a luxury; everyone needs at least 7 hours of sleep every night to ensure proper brain function and to avoid both mental and physical problems caused by lack of sleep. Luckily, there are several ways to help busy moms get better sleep.

5 Ways You Can Get a Better Sleep as a Busy Mother

Keep Screens out the Bedroom

Too much light in your bedroom coming from television, phone, or computer screens can affect your sleep. Darkness causes the brain to secrete melatonin, which is a hormone that makes you feel sleepy. The blue light emitted by electronic gadgets does just the opposite; thereby communicating to your brain that it’s still daytime and causing insomnia. Keeping screens out of the bedroom also ensures you avoid spending your bedtime catching up on the latest TV shows or checking emails.

Nap Whenever You Can

It’s always advisable to follow your children’s lead, meaning when they sleep you also sleep. Being a working mom can seem overwhelming at times. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and when someone trustworthy offers to take care of the kids, accept the offer and use that time to get some sleep. Daytime naps can help restore the sleeping hours you might have lost at night. Even a 20-minute nap can help you stay alert more and reduce fatigue during the day.

Get a Mattress That Suits Your Sleeping Position

For you to get a night of better sleep, you need to create the right environment in your bedroom. This means turning down the lights, minimizing noise, as well as investing in the right mattress and a comfortable bed. Technology has made everything better, and mattresses are no exception. Now you can find different types of mattresses that suit different sleeping positions, so get one that suits yours.

Try and Stick To Your Own Bedtime

It’s important to create good sleeping habits, not just for the kids but yourself as well. Start by getting to bed at the same time every night. Any disruptions to your bedtime routine might cause difficulty in falling asleep. If you still have a hard time falling sleeping try some relaxation techniques to help clear your mind and keep whatever worries that are affecting your sleep away.

Don’t Eat Too Late At Night

A late-night meal leads to disrupted digestion, which might affect your sleep. Eating heavy meals late at night can cause stomach discomfort hence affecting your sleep. Ideally, you should eat a few hours before bedtime and allow time for digestion to occur. This prevents problems like insomnia and heartburn at night, which can be uncomfortable.

Well, it’s already March! One quarter of the year is almost done in a blink of an eye. I feel like I live in a time-warp these days. Life became so busy that I haven’t had a chance to collect my thoughts. I know I have to document them asap before I forget, so here goes a reflective post about the recent milestones and developments of my baby, Lance. 🙂

Recent Milestones

• Lance is turning five months in a week and he’s technically out of the newborn stage. The spitting and drooling phase has started. It’s been going on for a month or so. Because of this, bibs and baby towels in his room are all the rage! He also changes outfits several times during the day. We just rotate his clothes and utilize his undershirts until he can fit into his bigger clothes.
• Speaking of clothes, he’s in size 6-9 months for sleepers and rompers and just barely hanging onto size 3-6 months for bodysuits. My mom has purchased clothes for one year old just to be prepared. It’s surprising how fast little ones can grow, sometimes literally overnight! At 4 months, he measures 69 cm and weighs 7.3 kg (16 lbs).
• Since he was 3 months old, he no longer cries when taking a bath. I think he started to appreciate the warmth of the water and learned that he’s not in danger but only outside the womb—in his bath tub. 😀
• He can sleep through the night rather than waking up by himself to feed every few hours. Sure, he has a few fussy days and times, but in general, he’s pretty easy-going. We have a solid bedtime routine. I arrive home at around 6:30 pm and he falls asleep at around 8:30 pm to 9 pm, and the nighttime rest will stretch until daytime.
• His naps are also starting to improve! He takes 30-40 minutes naps most mornings and late afternoons, but he already started extending his midday nap to 1-3 hours. He smiles so big whenever he sees me after a nap or even just a few minutes spent looking at something else. That smile lights up my soul!
• Lance nurses like a champ, but he’s still a slow eater and prefers to take his time looking at the bottle and holding it with his own hands. He feeds from the bottle ever since I went back to work, but we still do chat and spend our sweet moments together at night.
• Lance is extremely observant about his surroundings and quite sensitive to new sights and sounds.
• That lower lip pout to warn me when he’s about to start crying is too precious! His voice is so loud that my ears hurt sometimes, especially when I’m carrying him and his mouth is just beside my ears. 🙂
• He’s slowly getting more tolerant of tummy time, although he still only lasts in it for a few minutes at a time at best. He’s pushing up with his arms a lot more. His neck strength and head control are awesome!
• He’s able to reach for and grasp objects with intention and bring them to his mouth. He especially enjoys touching and gumming on fabrics. This is when I’ll tell him, “those are not your food!”
• I love how he captures my finger with his hands whenever we’re playing. I also introduced him to soft cuddly things = dolls that are about his height. 🙂

Likes and Dislikes

• He likes sleeping on the bed and dislikes being in his crib. Maybe the feeling of a warm body beside him is comforting. Even when he’s sleeping, he knows it when he’s transferred to the crib or to the stroller.
• He likes kicking his socks and finds some way to take them off. He does the same thing with his blanket. Maybe he just likes pushing everything with his legs, like practicing to be a kung fu master or a soccer player. 🙂
• He dislikes changing clothes. He’d always cry whenever we have to change his clothes!
• We get a completely different reaction when we change his diapers. He likes having his diapers changed.
• He likes watching himself or others in the mirror. He also likes having his picture taken. I take his photos every day and it has become integrated into our routine.
• He likes interacting with hanging toys and playing peek-a-boo.
• He likes watching TV with us and looking at lights.
• He’s not convenient when we clean his ears or wipe his nose.
• He doesn’t like using a pacifier, because we didn’t make him use it when he was a newborn.
• He’s a huge fan of his hands! He stares at them so intensely, entwining them, chewing on them, and sometimes even his whole fist.
• He laughs whenever Louie makes goofy faces and says funny made-up words in a high-pitched tone.

Little Things I Always Want to Remember

• When he opens his mouth in a wide toothless grin – I know I’m going to miss seeing this in the next few months! 🙁
• Seeing his curious eyes when he looks at the different colorful things outside from our balcony and whenever we’re in the car on the way to the hospital for our bi-monthly checkups – There’s nothing quite like reliving the wonder of life through your child’s eyes. 🙂
• Our snuggles during nap and sleep time in a kangaroo position
• When he talks with his own language – He would repeat some series of vowel sounds after me when he’s in a good mood.
• The noises and facial expressions he makes when sleeping – Awwww… ❤
• The way his hands holds onto my shoulder when I carry him upright – It feels like a hug!
• The way he raises both legs when he farts – This means “run!” for us, a warning sign we all have to prepare for. 😂
• His scent – a blissful mix of milk and a baby
• His thighs, his feet, his little fingers semi-grasping small things
• His sneezes, and his reactions to his own sneeze 🙂

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I hope you enjoyed this personal life update. If you couldn’t already tell, I am completely smitten with our baby. Though I don’t want him to grow up too fast, I also can’t wait for him to walk. 😛 I always daydream holding hands with him while we’re walking…somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight. 😛😍 I love him, so much!

Bringing your baby home is one of the most exciting experiences you will have in your life. While you want everything to be perfect, it can be difficult to manage your budget to accommodate for your new bundle of joy while making sure the baby’s bedroom has everything you want and need.

Did you know the average bedroom renovation costs between $2,500 and $9,000? From college to a family vacation, think of all the other things you could spend that money in the future. You want your new baby’s nursery to be comfortable, beautiful and well-organized, but you don’t want to spend excessively on your baby’s room when you have so many other expenses to worry about during this amazing time in your life.

After upgrading from a one-bedroom to a two-bedroom apartment, you will want to make sure your baby’s room is all set before the baby arrives. But don’t get overwhelmed, there are ways to create an amazing space and keep to your budget.

3 Budget-Friendly Tips for Decorating Your Baby’s Nursery

1. Bring Your Memories into Your Baby’s Room

More and more parents are looking for a sophisticated bedroom design for their little ones. One way you can achieve this on a budget is to use some of your existing furniture in the baby’s room. If you have a great leather ottoman, repurpose as a footrest with your rocking chair. Or bring in the recliner instead of a glider.

Instead of buying baby art or generic baby decor, use photos you already have to decorate the baby’s room. This will give the nursery a more personalized feeling and bring some of your stories into the space.

Your baby will wake up several times throughout the night: crying, screaming, and restless. You’re going to spend time rocking the baby back to sleep and nursing the baby. If you fill your baby’s room with memories from your life, you will feel more relaxed during these stressful times. As your baby grows, you can replace some photos with pictures of your baby and keep some, so you can share stories of your experiences with your baby as they grow.

You can even design an art wall that you can update from time to time as you create more memories with your new baby.

2. Purchase Convertible Furniture and Other Items

It can be difficult to know what you’ll need for your baby in the future. But there are a few things you’ll only need for the first year or two. For your baby’s crib and changing table, think about how you can adapt them to work as your baby grows and ditch the classic diaper bag. Here’s a good resource on how to choose a diaper: Diapers guide by mybabiesplanet.com.

When it comes to a crib, your newborn will only sleep in it for about a year and a half to two years before scaling the side and wandering about your home. Instead of investing in a crib and a kid’s bed, find a crib that will convert into a bed when the time comes. You can even find cribs that will go from a crib to a twin bed to a full or queen size.

You will also want to find a crib with a changing table attachment that converts into a dresser or wardrobe. Then you can slowly replace diapers and rash cream with your baby’s clothes and toys.

Another thing you will want to consider is your diaper bag. These can be quite cumbersome and look very ‘new mom.’ Instead of getting the powder pink diaper bag, (which might look silly if you have a second child and it’s a boy), purchase a backpack or tote that will work as your child grows. Backpacks are great because they won’t slip off your shoulder and they free up your hands.

3. Create Your Own Decor

While you’re waiting for the baby to arrive, spend your time creating some of those amazing baby wall decorations or bedroom designs yourself.

Create a pennant wall-hanging with crafting or scrapbook paper, ribbon, and dowels. This is pretty straightforward: choose paper that has a color scheme that matches your theme. Then cut out your baby’s name or a word that will inspire the rest of your baby room decor. Some cute ideas include “girls rule” or “hello honey” with a bumblebee.  You can even do a one letter per pennant design and hang it over the crib.

A D.I.Y. chalkboard is a great craft project that will last. You can paint a rectangular area over your baby’s crib, dresser, or toy box with chalkboard paint. Put an old picture frame around the painted area for a little more elegance, then having some fun with chalk. Draw a sailboat or flowers. Even a bunny rabbit is an adorable idea for a kid’s room. Include your child’s name or an inspirational quote. You can even write the first thing you thought when you saw your bundle of joy for the first time.

Another way to bring in the with chalk paint is to paint the top of an old trunk and use it as a toy box. Update that old bulking furniture for some fun flair.

When it comes to creating an inviting baby space that will grow with your little one, incorporate your past and think about the future. Repurpose what you have and purchase items that will grow with your little one.

Congratulations on becoming a parent! And remember to save where you can so you can keep traveling and creating memories with your little one. 🙂